Back To The Future – Honda’s New CB1000F Coming?

[advrider]

Long, long ago, in a motorcycle industry far, far from today’s motorcycle market, the sportbike wars were raging. Newer, lighter, more sport-oriented machines hurtled along the pavement at breakneck speeds, strafing corners and apexes with explosive acceleration.

In the race against other in-line four-cylinder sport bike manufacturers, the Big Red empire was working on building its ultimate weapon. Honda’s CB F-series sport bikes had already grown from the 1979’s original 750 cc displacement CB750F to a 900 cc version in the CB900F. But it still wasn’t enough, so Honda was forced to take extreme measures. In 1982, during its struggle to win the sport bike wars, Honda created the CB1000F.

The 1982 Honda CB1000F. Photo: Honda

But during the epic battles of the superbike wars, sportbikes continued to get heavier and less responsive. The war was turning into a battle of fully or partially faired battleships. The CB F-series of bikes in their then-current form was running out. And during a pause in the action, the CB1000F slipped into a wormhole, never to be seen again. Or was it?

Back From The Darkness

It turns out that the CB1000F wasn’t lost in the wormhole. It has been sighted at the Osaka Motor Show, making its way back out of the darkness and into the battle once again. But it isn’t unchanged. The new CB1000F arrives without the original’s bikini fairing but with a similar smooth and flowing outline. A round retro-styled headlight is prominent at the front, along with the old version’s duck tail and rectangular headlight.

Honda’s Honda CB1000F concept bike. Photo: Honda

Packed within the steel twin-spar frame rails of the new machine is reportedly the engine from Honda’s 2017 CBR1000RR Fireblade, which kicked out about 150 hp. The bike’s dimensions and suspension look to be lifted from the Hornet. That means it gets a Showa inverted SFF-BP inverted fork and an adjustable monoshock.

A False Sighting?

Honda has yet to officially announce that the CB1000F will make it to production. However, the models shown at the Osaka show presented very production-ready examples.

 

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